PM's address, via video message, at the Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the ECOSOC, New York

PM's address, via video message, at the
Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the ECOSOC, New York

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has addressed, through a video message,
the special event in New York City, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the
United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Following is the text of the Prime Minister's address:

President of ECOSOC, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank the President of ECOSOC for inviting me to address the special meeting
today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Economic and Social Council.

On this occasion, I extend my sincere greetings and congratulations to all
members of United Nations.

Mr. President, Excellencies,

The ECOSOC is a key pillar of the United Nations structure.

Its creation as a distinct part of United Nations is a testimony to the
centrality of development in the vision of the founders of the UN.

To achieve a peaceful and prosperous world, we need to put in place, first and
foremost, conditions for rapid socio-economic development; improvement in the
human condition, and an end to hunger and deprivation.

Excellencies,

India was a proud participant in the creation of this body.

An eminent citizen of India, Arcot Ramaswamy Mudaliar, was a key architect of
ECOSOC.

He had the privilege of serving as the first President of ECOSOC at its
inaugural session in 1946.

In his opening address to the ECOSOC’s first session, Ramaswamy defined what he
saw was the role ECOSOC had to play in subsequent years.

He said and I quote: “On the work of this Council and on its ability to solve
intricate economic problems of a complicated nature, depends the chance of
achieving real security and peace in the world of the future”. Unquote

The work of the ECOSOC therefore, particularly the manner in which it advances
the improvement in the human condition and ensures a life of dignity for all,
is central to the overall agenda of the United Nations.

70 years have passed since this body was created. We are now 15 years into the
21st century. But has the ECOSOC managed to fulfill the expectations of our
founders?

While we have seen remarkable progress over these 70 years, eradication of
poverty remains the greatest unfinished business of the 20th century. It is
also the most important unfulfilled objective of the United Nations.

Excellencies,

The 70th anniversary of the ECOSOC could not have come at a more appropriate
moment.

The international community has just given to itself a new comprehensive vision
of development.

The ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, presents a valuable opportunity
for the UN system to rethink its role and purpose, and make itself more
effective.

It is now the responsibility of ECOSOC to rise up to this challenge and
contribute to making this Agenda a success.

The 2030 Agenda is a reflection of the challenges faced by poorer countries.

We in the developing world not only have to end poverty and hunger and satisfy
the legitimate aspirations of our people for a better life, we also have to do
so in a manner that is friendly to the planet and environment.

The developed countries on the other hand, face enormous responsibilities to
rapidly move their economies on to a sustainable path, follow sustainable
lifestyles and assist developing countries with finance and technologies.

At the same time, we have enormous resources at our command. And technology
today presents us with solutions that were unthinkable earlier.

The challenge is to channel the available resources and use technology to
tackle the most urgent problems facing us.

I urge you to see this as an opportunity. To rejuvenate the Council, to make it
more action oriented, policy relevant and more responsive to the needs and
aspirations of our people.

In doing so, the guiding philosophy of the ECOSOC must always be the welfare of
the poorest of the poor, or ‘Antyodaya’ in Indian thought.

So long as there is poverty in the world, so long as our people, no matter in
which country, remain deprived of basic human amenities, freedoms, rights and
opportunities, the work of the ECOSOC will not be complete.

I am confident that ECOSOC will live up to the dreams of the founding fathers
of the United Nations.

Thank you.

***

PM attends function for distribution of
e-rickshaws in Lucknow; interacts with rickshaw pullers and their families

The Prime Minister interacted with rickshaw-puller families in a chaupal
setting. During the interaction, subjects such as saving of a portion of the
additional income, and education of children, came up for discussion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said the whole world has
recognised that India is the fastest growing major economy in the world today.
He added that this is happening despite the global recession. He said that the
primary objectives of his Government are the welfare of the poor, and
employment for the youth. The Prime Minister said youth should become job
creators instead of job seekers. He added that his Government has taken a
series of steps to fulfil these objectives. In this context, he mentioned that
2 crore people had benefited from the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, in less than
a year of the scheme's launch.

The Prime Minister said that for the people who are getting e-rickshaws today,
it is not just a simple change from pedal rickshaw to e-rickshaw, but an entire
transformative process.

The Prime Minister symbolically handed over RuPay cards, and social security
schemes to select beneficiaries. The Prime Minister flagged off the rally of
2100 e-rickshaws.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that on one hand he is happy
to see India's rise in the 21st century, as a nation full of youthful energy,
with youthful dreams and youthful resolve. He said the youth is India's source
of strength.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister recalled the recent suicide committed by
a student in Hyderabad, and said he felt and understood the pain of the family.
He said that whatever may have been the reasons, a mother lost her son; indeed
Mother India had lost a son. The Prime Minister said that his Government would
follow the path shown by Babasaheb Ambedkar, and work towards creating an
environment where problems could be overcome.

The Prime Minister recalled Dr. Ambedkar’s economic vision, and said the
Government is working towards the development of youth as job creators, instead
of job seekers.

The Prime Minister mentioned how Dr. Ambedkar had placed importance on
education, and had achieved so much despite adversity. He said that Dr.
Ambedkar had then resolved to return to India and devote his life for the
welfare of the weaker sections of society. He urged the convocating youth to
follow the example set by Dr. Ambedkar, and try to serve the poor and the
downtrodden.

The Prime Minister laid the Foundation Stone of the state-of-the-art Student
Activity Centre at the University.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Narendra Modi recalled his speech even before
taking oath of office as Prime Minister, where he had mentioned that his
Government would be devoted to the service of the poor and downtrodden. He said
the Union Government has taken a series of steps in this direction.

He said this camp in Varanasi is just one of about 1800 such camps that have
been held across the country since his Government came to power. This number,
he asserted, was far greater than the comparable number in the case of previous
governments. He said these camps had eliminated middlemen from the activity of
distribution of aids and assistive devices.

The Prime Minister said that he has been the target of personal attacks,
because middlemen are being eliminated and governance is being tightened. He
said these personal attacks will not deter him from his path, which is the
service of the poor and weaker sections of society.

The Prime Minister spoke at length about replacing the word “viklang” with
“divyang” in everyday usage, to describe differently-abled people. He said the
focus should not be on disabilities, but on the extra-ordinary abilities that
differently abled people are blessed with.

He complimented the Railways for the launch of the Mahamana Express with modern
passenger amenities, which he flagged-off on the occasion.

The Prime Minister spoke about the bus accident involving some people who were
coming to attend this event. He said Ministers and officers had rushed to the
hospital, and the injured would be well taken care of. He also met some of the
people with minor injuries, who had made it to the function nevertheless.

***

Two Groups of Secretaries present ideas
and suggestions to PM

As a follow-up to Prime Minister's exhortation to Secretaries to come up with
ideas for transformative change in various areas of governance, on Thursday
(21st January, 2016), two Groups of Secretaries presented their ideas and
suggestions on (a) Accelerated Growth with Inclusion and Equity (b) Employment
Generation Strategies, to the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.

The Prime Minister, in his concluding remarks, appreciated the efforts of all
eight Groups of Secretaries and said that the whole process was an exercise
towards team building and for generating ideas for the benefit of the nation.
The Prime Ministers lauded the officers for collectively giving around 10,000
working hours for the entire process.

Union Ministers Smt. Sushma Swaraj and Shri Manohar Parrikar, besides all
Secretaries to the Government of India were present. During and after the
presentation, several members of the audience, including the Prime Minister and
Union Ministers asked questions related to the theme of the presentation, and
gave their suggestions.